‘Home is precious’: Hong Kong ‘McRefugee’ struggles with loneliness after return to ransacked flat 

She wasn't robbed or ransacked.. she's a hoarder that needs not just help cleaning up but mental health services as well .. she's lonely and depressed and getting attached to objects.. my heart goes to her.. 😢💜

She needs help much more than just cleaning up her place. Her hoarding is just a symptom of her depression.

This woman needs more mental help than cleaning her house. How can she be left alone in her conditions ?

Her problems are hoarding, depression, loneliness, and just generally mental health. With two flats and no obvious lack of cash, she's really doing fine financially and should be okay.

Owning 2 properties in HK is the opposite of being ‘below society’. If she can get professional help to clean, maintain hoarding issues and get a few secure door locks, there is no issue. As a female, I rather take my chances getting squished to death sleeping rather than getting groped by creeps at the park. My mum semi- hoards, so I know the feeling. If you throw away an empty can or chair, prepare your own funeral. She might be stubborn, so her kids have probably given up trying to help her.

She is a hoarder. Not a homeless person.

So she's homeless by choice, not because of financial difficulties..

She has 2 flats and chooses to live out on the streets and at McDonald's?? Insanity. This lady needs help.

People needs to know that being a hoarder is more than being cheap or lazy. It's usually due to underlying mental health that takes more than just getting rid of some belongings

I had a 2nd cousin , hes a hoarder. Still remembered every long school holidays, me & my mom would vist him and well ..clean his house.. It breaks my heart every time cos he would cry tears & there would be tensions , oneday mom made him to promise - for every items that he hoard ,he must make sure to clean it firstly, then stack on racks or boxes according to type. The hoarding never stopped, but it was much2 better environment in the house, things neatly separated. I did enjoyed helping him cleaning some of his stuff, especially the bicycles 😂. Occasionally tears when theres too much, we need to remove some things ( we made sure not to throw it away in the garbage bin in front of his eyes- that would hurt him - , some were sold - aka new life. Somehow he sees every piece of the items he brought back as Love, every piece is a piece of his heart. A wonderful person, kids likes to hitch free rides on his trishaw . So guys hv empathy, its a difficult sickness to cure, but its manageable

Buddhism says : Don't be so attached to things. This is really her problem.

"At least when I am sleeping here nobody will touch my thighs" -Wong Yee-nga #Facts

If she owns two properties in Hong Kong, her net worth is at least half a million dollars. She’s not in financial trouble at all. She’s just a hoarder.

We should seriously consider an adopt a grandparent campaign. No one should grow old lonely, homeless or hungry regardless of their circumstances.

In Hongkong if you have two flats, you must be rich.

I knew she wasn’t poor when she is shown eating fast food. Mcdonalds is more expensive than those streetside dimsum places that have better food. Plus her place is massive by hk standards and she has 2!. Have you seen the size of those coffin like rentals!? She can charge a pretty penny if she lets go of her hoarder attitude.

" at least when I'm sleeping here no one will touch my thighs " That broke my heart

Thank you to those kind volunteers who helped her. 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

hoarding is a real mental problem and disorder thats hard to understand from an outside perspective.

"At least when I am sleeping here nobody will touch my thighs" I feel like the fact she said that, it must had happened least once before when she was sleeping in the streets

She look healthy and strong for a 82

It sounds like she lost her family because of her hoarding. That is so sad

Many factors contribute towards hoarding in people. I m glad she is getting assistance. She should be able to live in her own home. I have two family members who suffer from this but are in denial, fortunately for them the house is huge so a certain section in the house is just theirs with their hoarding stuff. It becomes a very sensitive topic if I try to tell them to discard as I get rid of stuffs I have not touched for a year or more.

I think she is a difficult person/mother to deal with. That's why her children left her thus, became a hoarder. She needs help with her mental health. At 82, she slowly opened up thanks to the reporter's interview. Hopefully, she can let go her ego, anger and stubborness. She have to make peace and love herself.

Soo sad . I know how it's feels to be lonely

She isn’t actually poor. It’s just depression and what has happened to her in the past. I don’t blame her and her voice sounded wobbly. She seemed sad. She needs a companion.

Her places where she hoards is a sign of her depression in full display. She doesn’t want to face it nor tackle the task. That’s why she’d rather sleep outside. It’s easier to run away from your problems than to fix it. It makes sense.

This is so sad, loneliness effect everything including hoarder. A single mother will care 6 child but 6child can't take care of single mother .

She is a hoarder and none of your six children would even do an interview? It is not normal for children to distance themselves like that. Something is very wrong with this woman.

Such a sad story; having no one to eat meals with and being estranged from you children! Prayers and Blessings for her and her family!

When 6 children turn their backs on someone, it means that this someone have some deep rooted psychological problems that they are not prepared to deal with. She might be a very difficult woman that SCMP is trying to paint in a positive light or is trying to make her appear as the victim, if not as the result of her family, it would be the one of circumstances. I think the clip with the cigarette dangling out of her mouth is perhaps more telling of her personality than the entire video. If you missed it, re watch the video and take another look.

People just don't realize how it feels to be old and lonely. 😢 Sometimes we talk a lot because we're lonely.

I think her children left her alone because of her hoarding behavior. It's hard to deal with people like that.

Letting go. The more you let go, the happier you are. We came with nothing, we will leave with nothing.

I agree with every one’s comments. She owns 2 flats in HK !! She’s rich but has serious mental/depression and is lonely that is causing this. She has 6 children and none of them care about her. She is also a hoarder which is probably caused by loneliness/depression. She says those cookies and pasta are still ok after how many years ??!! It’s probable rotted and moldy by now sitting in all that garbage. She needs serious help. My heart ❤️ goes out to her.

the fact that she have 6 kids and none of them can step up and help her .. I have no words

She seems like a very sweet little old lady,Just I think she is suffering from hoarding issues..She needs thr help and assistence from others..The fact she would rather be homeless than to live in her house,says a lot

She's part of that generation who saw value in everything that and throwing away old things as throwing away money. My dad had told VCRs and tube tvs that he got for cheap or free but sees the value as valuable items.

Those places weren’t ransacked and made unliveable by thieves. She’s an extreme hoarder and has made her two properties unfit to live in herself. That’s what I extreme hoarders do. They make one space unliveable and then move on to another and another because they can’t throw anything out. She made this problem and even with people willing to help she won’t get rid of the junk until she goes through everything herself. Unfortunately, this is her problem to solve and it will only be sorted out when she gets control of her hoarding.

Glad to know that she still healthy 👍👍

My Dad was like this. They hoard out of the fear of having nothing and I can't blame them (My dad grew up Dirt poor on the streets) he never learnt past survival mode even after gaining success in life. At least this lady is back home... for how long I don't know cause stuff seems to be piling up again.

Always be grateful to ur parents and never leave them like this...😣

Her condition is exactly like some of the senior citizens in my country here who are always like to linger around at the town centre, lazing around at the temple where is crowded with visitors, main bus transit stations, big malls and so on. NGOs here have been mistakenly assuming that they have been left abundant or even mistreated by their family members. But after the investigations are being carried out by the state’s welfare department and other respective NGOs, some of these senior citizens even have cars and their own apartments. They are just lonely and need to spend their time fruitfully after retiring at their old age.

She is lonely and misses her children. The loneliness makes memories attached to every item more precious than what they really are. If any of her kids could visit and help her maintain her place regularly she would be much better. The personal relation will help her detach from her material possession. I hope they can reconcile while their mom is still strong. You are one family notwithstanding your individual differences. There is always room for acceptance and forgiveness.

it is sad indeed... to be her age and alone but having 6 kids who left her must mean it's karma for her. She's depressed definitely and thinks of the past a lot. It's not easy for children to finally leave their parents. But deep traumatic events are usually the causes of it. Whether children cannot forgive themselves and parents themselves as well...

I'm so glad they stayed in touch with her. I did think it was odd the first time we met her how she's not living In her own home. Great job salvation army. Hope she can be refer to some community club so she won't have to live on the street just to be with people anymore

She lost me when I realized she was a hoarder...in complete denial. It's both sad and disgusting, so it's hard to sympathize. They needed to "steal" everything from one of her apartments and let her think she's starting fresh, but with a lot of therapy.

A single mother can raise 6 children while 6 children can’t even afford to help single mother😢

So sad. She need some mental health care. This will never change till she does. She’s a hoarder. She seems to value her stuff over her life. This is not living. Pray for her.

She has too many things which she doesn’t need. If she keeps only the things she is going to use, then she will be ok. The problem is she keeps everything n need mental help.

That’s heart touching

😢😢 It is very sad to see her in such condition. Really heart-breaking. My pray is for her to be able to let go of the items, and her daughter may want to visit her again. 😢😢

Her children should be ashamed of themselves. Six kids and they just abandon her. Awful. I’m praying for her.

Hoarding is just the manifestation of her depression trying to fill up an empty void thats inside of her. 😥

Her things have a nice, safe, comfortable home... meanwhile she is on the streets... 😔

I think as some people age they tend to hang on to things much more. Especially when family and friends aren't around and partners pass away. And being elderly it becomes harder and harder to tidy up and cope This happened to my mom. When I finally convinced her to move in with me cuz she couldn't take care of her home I tried to get her to get rid of things that when she was younger she would have. Now she won't part with anything. We had to get a storage space for $150/month for things she hasn't seen in approximately 5 years or more. It got worse and worse over time and I worked 6/days a week then trying to take care of her on Sunday when I lived over an hour away. No other family member would help. It's very tough and my heart goes out to this woman. I couldn't have imagined my mom on the streets Seeing her daughter wouldn't comment we really don't know the whole story. I hope she finds peace and happiness for the rest of her years My mom is the same age.

I see people in comments demonizing her kids, which is so wrong. We can all agree and sympathize with the fact that she’s a hoarder due to mental health problems but why can we not see how that traumatized her kids? Many parents with severe mental problems are not the best parents, I speak from experience...

so sad, she's just helpless elderly woman, with heartless six children. 😥

i dont understand if shes a hourder or if shes cheap.. she seems like a hoarder, and then she needs help before she ends up in the streets again

From my experience, just throw or sell everything except the bed.

We’re is the government or her family poor woman I feal sorry so many people are lonely in this horrible world Full of sadness

Oh no man, it's too late for my brain to handle these emotions.

How could her children leave her like this

That hasn't been ransacked she's a hoarder

People who hold on to so much stuff do so because it feels like it has meaning to them. It's too emotionally uncomfortable to consider letting it go. Even if they dont remember it hidden underneath other stuff for so long, when they see it again they feel the emotion. One possible solution is to photograph each item before discarding it, then the person can feel they holding on to it, if they want they can look at the photos forever, but even they never look at them they still feel the comfort of having it there if they want to look. Photos, especially digital photos are so easy to store. This lady might have experienced a great loss in her life, and now losing anything - no matter how small or meaningless to someone else - is just a trigger that generates great feelings of loss that are laying unresolved inside her.

She's lonely and depressed without her loved ones around.

She have 2 houses but she rather let all the stuff she hoard live in it and she live on the street. This is not housing problem but mental health problem. She need company as she is lonely and there seems to be no meaning for her to be living, may she be well 🙏🏼

So sad that she has no relationship with her children

How terribly sad. I grieve for this woman.

I am so sorry about her problem, this problem affects so many people there is not enough effort to help these people sickness.

She’s wealthier than me…. This is hella dumb

I would cry on her shoulders and hug her.

Having 2 flats means she's rich.Id presume her children left her due to unavailable space because of her hoarding.She value her stuff more than anything/anyone else.

it's hoarding mentality problem. understandable. it's her choice. she can choose to keep basic things & let say 20 "historical" things she want to keep, then throw away everything else. but, I guess that's nearly impossible for her to make that decision.

True, just dont have kids.

Lady u are inspiring so many

The title is incorrect. Should have been: Hoarder lives on the street due to lack of space.

they want to help but looks like she not even think want to throw the stuff she own.. its road block for helpers. So dont blame the helper never tried

Unfortunately, she's estranged from her children. From the way she spoke to the Salvation Army volunteers, it can be feel quite negative and depressing for people trying to help her. Don't think she's an easy person to live with but no matter, she's their mum. Even though it may be unpleasant, they should at least occasionally visit her from time to time.

She is a hoarder, needs professional help, she has not tried to stop hoarding.

It's her choice. And I guess she's too much attached to stuff, that she'd prefer to live outside than to remove the unnecessary things.

Hoarded so many things that she would rather sleep on the streets than in EITHER of her TWO homes. How sad.

She said it herself, I'd rather sleep on the streets than throw my hoard!

Prayers for this poor woman who needs help🙏

The bigger issue is that she's a hoarder. She feels powerless and lonely but those things are the only sense of control she has. She needs to get help and find a way out that mindset. Her problem is more mental than financial

All 6 kids not speaking to her? I pray for her 🙏 😔 and them.

I think loneliness triggered her don’t want to let go anything that she has in that house. Maybe her family all left her rather they passed away or just not in contact with her. This is so sad! If I was there I’ll eat with her every day, we’ll go shopping, go for a walk, etc.

She is lonely.. I feel so sorry for her...

I have a friend that lives like this piles of clothes and boxes piled up up even the kitchen is full of stuff. She keeps food inside a refrigerator outside on her paitio. Her room mate digs stuff out of the trash bins every day and brings things home. The patio is full of stuff other renters have tossed away. She doesn't have space for a bed.

I think she should be taken care by her children. They should be responsible.

She rather sleep on the streets than throw the things away. Owing 2 properties is a big deal especially a Hong konger like her

i think the problem here is not "homeless", its "hoarder"???

Misleading title, her flats don’t seem to be have ransacked or burglarized. She is a hoarder. So sad.

i think the solution is just to sell one flat then use the money to live in a elderly community where she can communicate and eat together with them plus the care of the nurses will solve the loneliness

6 kids all stay away from her ? that is a sign something wrong with tis hoarding woman.

Thank you

Old lady: All the things I've collected have value. Also her: What's in this bag?

How I wish I could help her, she reminds me of my grandma😢

I have a close relative who had a serious hoarding problem. It caused alot of stress and strain to other family members. We could see tht the person needed help but it was a very sensitive issue that will end up in arguments and months of getting the cold shoulder treatment. I think it affected me to a certain extent as I became extremely mindful of what i own. I am always removing/giving away my things, downsizing my wadrobe and try to keep the fridge and cupboards empty. I feel ive become an anti hoarder. Seeing material things accumulating in my home gives me stress. I seldom shop and wish i can survive with less.

She said" I would sleep on street" Imagine her daughter keeps argue with her for years.